


Do Not Fear the Full Moon

by livwrites



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Community: HPFT, Sirius is innocent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-30 01:35:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6403324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livwrites/pseuds/livwrites





	1. Lupin's Truth

Remus Lupin paused at his desk in his office, leaning over the Marauder's Map. He was focused on one name in particular. One name that should not have been there, who had died 12 years ago.  
  
   
  
Peter Pettigrew.  
  
   
  
What was he doing here? More importantly, how was he still alive?  
  
   
  
Lupin, still staring at the dot that was Pettigrew, reached for the goblet of Wolfsbane Potion sitting beside him on the desk. He picked it up, grimaced, and drained it. It was the full moon tonight, and he wanted to keep his sanity.  
  
   
  
Especially since it looked like there was going to be a major confrontation tonight. Right on top of Pettigrew's dot was Ron Weasley's dot, as well as that of Sirius Black. Suddenly Lupin understood everything.  
  
   
  
_Sirius wasn't going after Harry. He was going after Pettigrew. The real traitor_. He abruptly straightened, grabbed his wand, and rushed out of his office, locking the door behind him as he left.  
  
   
  
As he rushed down the halls, trying his best to look in a hurry (which he was), his mind was churning.  
  
   
  
_If Pettigrew is still alive_ , he thought, _then that means that he framed Sirius that night, when Sirius confronted him and 12 Muggles died. It also means that Sirius is innocent of betraying Lily and James_ \- the thought of their deaths still brought pain and sadness after all these years - _which is why he didn't go insane in Azkaban._  
  
  
  
Lupin exited out the front door, and walked very quickly, almost running, to the Shrieking Shack, following along the path that Sirius had dragged Ron and Pettigrew, Harry and Hermione having tagged along behind them.  
  
   
  
As he neared the Whomping Willow, he grabbed a stick from the ground, and prodded the knot in the tree when he got close enough. Slipping through the entrance to the passageway, he drew his wand.  
  
   
  
Walking quietly down the corridor, he began to hear voices; those of Sirius, Harry, and Hermione, arguing. Lupin could make out individual words - they were arguing.  
  
   
  
"If you kill Harry you'll have to kill me too," Hermione said. _Uh oh._ After that he could hear running, and then a crash, like the sound of bodies hitting the floor. He rushed in to find Sirius on the ground, Harry kneeling on top of him, his wand drawn and pointed at the older wizard's head.  
  
   
  
Raising his wand, Lupin disarmed Harry and Hermione, then looked at Sirius.  
  
   
  
"You look like you've embraced your inner madness," he told his old friend. Sirius grinned back, then said, "Well, you'd know all about the inner madness, now, wouldn't you Remus?" _Go figure that he would make a werewolf joke._  
  
  
  
At this, Hermione turned and looked at him. "You!" she shrieked. "We trusted you!"  
  
   
  
Harry looked confused. "Hermione, what-"  
  
   
  
"Harry, don't you see," she yelled. "He's in league with Voldemort, he's trying to get Sirius Black into the castle, and he's a werewolf!"  
  
   
  
_No, no, and how did she know that_? Lupin thought. Then he remembered that Snape had skipped ahead to a lesson on werewolves one of the previous full moons, the classes that he had missed for obvious reasons. But he had to set the record straight.  
  
   
  
"Hermione, you're very smart," he said. "But off your usual mark, I'm afraid. I have never been in league with Voldemort, and I wasn't trying to get Sirius into the castle - until about ten minutes ago I believed, just as you do, that he was guilty. However, I am a werewolf."

 

*

 

After telling everyone his story, Sirius and Lupin were on their way to Dumbledore's office to explain to him the truth, hoping that he would be a gateway to setting the record straight throughout the wizarding world about who actually betrayed Lily and James Potter. Right now, they were just passing the statue that guarded Dumbledore's office.  
  
   
  
As they rose up the staircase, Harry couldn't help worrying about what Dumbledore would say. Did he know that Sirius was innocent? Hopefully the appearance of Pettigrew in his human form would persuade him. Even if Dumbledore was persuaded, there was still the entire Ministry of Magic, which Harry hoped could be dealt with later, when Sirius looked more presentable.  
  
   
  
When Harry, standing beside Sirius, stepped into Dumbledore's office fully, his heart sank into his stomach. Dumbledore sat at his desk, opposite Fudge in a visitor's chair. They were discussing Sirius.  
  
   
  
"Do you have any idea where he is, Dumbledore?" Fudge asked. "We need to find Sirius Black before he finds Potter. God knows that he has already-"  
  
   
  
"Come close enough?" Sirius interrupted him. Harry had noticed Dumbledore staring at them, but had hoped he would introduce them at the right time. Instead Sirius had gone ahead and interrupted. Now Fudge's eyes were bulging out of his head.  
  
   
  
"Sirius Black! Standing right beside Harry Potter!" he shrieked. "Come here, Mr. Potter, where you can't get injured by this madman that betrayed your parents."  
  
   
  
"I didn't betray Lily and James Potter," Sirius said, "and that's why I'm here. This whole year I was after this rat," pointing at Pettigrew, squirming crazily in Ron's hands. "This is Peter Pettigrew, alive."  
  
   
  
Harry looked at Dumbledore, who was sitting quietly in his chair, listening to everyone. Then he looked at Fudge, who was sputtering.  
  
   
  
"Nonsense!" he said. "Peter Pettigrew died the night that Lily and James did - when you cornered him in the street and killed him! You blew him apart so powerfully that only a finger was left!"  
  
   
  
Sirius laughed. "Here is where you're wrong, Minister." He pulled his wand out of his robes and took Pettigrew from Ron. He looked at Lupin. "I can't do this by myself," he said.  
  
   
  
Harry was puzzled. "Do what by yourself?" he asked.  
  
   
  
"Turn Pettigrew back into his human form," Lupin asked. "It's a forceful spell that usually requires two full-grown wizards." He drew his own wand at the same time that Sirius loosened his hold on Pettigrew, holding him upside down by the tail, at arm's length. He, along with Lupin, pointed their wands at the rat, and a jet of bright blue light came out of their wands. As soon as it hit Pettigrew, Sirius dropped him on the floor.  
  
   
  
Harry thought the effects were fascinating to watch. Pettigrew's tail was shrinking into nothing at the same time that his paws were turning into hands. Fur was disappearing and turning into skin while Pettigrew himself was shooting up to his normal height. In a span of about thirty seconds he had gone from a rat to an ugly man, cringing and wringing his hands before Dumbledore's desk.  
  
   
  
Ron's expression showed nothing but disgust. "He was better as a rat," he muttered under his breath, and Harry almost laughed until he reminded himself that this was the man who betrayed his parents.  
  
   
  
Pettigrew had indeed looked better as a rat. He had boils all across his face, and his hair was falling out in chunks. His clothes were even shabbier than Sirius's.  
  
   
  
Fudge was horrified. "You should be dead," he said, his voice almost a whisper, his face white. "We thought you were dead! We gave your mother the Order of Merlin, First Class that we thought you deserved! All that we found was a finger!"  
  
   
  
Sirius stalked forward, grabbed Pettigrew's left hand, and held it in front of Fudge. "Look!" he said. "A missing finger." He then dragged Pettigrew's sleeve up his left arm until his forearm was bare. On the inside of his forearm was a tattoo.  
  
   
  
"The Dark Mark!" Sirius said triumphantly. He let Pettigrew's sleeve drop and pulled up his own. His arm was bare. "Do you need any more proof, Minister? I can testify by Veritaserum if you wish."  
  
   
  
Fudge was white. "I will have to discuss this with senior Ministry staff," he said. "But rest assured that there will have to be a hearing before we can officially clear you. Good-night, Dumbledore." He took his hat off the desk and stiffly walked over to the fireplace. Picking up a handful of Floo Powder, he called, "Ministry of Magic", stepped in, and was gone.  
  
   
  
Dumbledore finally stood up. "Well, Sirius, I am convinced. The only thing I am not sure of is what we are going to do with this here", he said, gesturing at Pettigrew. "I think we should stick him in Flitwick's office," he continued. "There is nothing there that he can use, and once I go adjust the windows he can't go anywhere."  
  
   
  
Sirius cleared his throat. Dumbledore looked back at him. "Yes?" he asked.  
  
   
  
"I have one more thing," Sirius said. "A shower, and some clean clothes would be nice."  
  
   
  
Dumbledore nodded. "The boy's shower on the third floor is currently out-of-bounds. Shower there quickly tonight, and by the time you get back here I will have clothes for you, then we will find you somewhere to sleep." He turned to Harry. "I think you should get to bed yourself, my boy," he said. "You have your exams coming up, and you need to be rested to study for them, I think. Remus, would you take these three back to their common room, while I take Mr. Pettigrew to Professor Flitwick's office?"  
  
   
  
Lupin nodded. "Let's go, Harry, Hermione," he said. "Ron, we'll take you to the hospital wing."  
  
   
  
Sirius looked sheepish. "Sorry about that," he said. He turned and left Dumbledore's office. When he left, Lupin looked at Harry.  
  
   
  
"You know, of course, Harry, and you two as well," he said, gesturing at Ron and Hermione, " that you can't talk about this to anyone. Sirius hasn't formally been declared innocent yet, so everyone still thinks he is a murderer."  
  
   
  
"I know," Harry said. Inside he was almost bursting with joy. He finally had a chance to live with family, magical family, that would actually take care of him properly. He couldn't wait for the chance to face the Dursleys and tell them that he was leaving for good.  
  
   
  
Ron turned and slowly walked towards the statue, being careful not to put too much weight on his broken leg. Harry, Hermione, and Lupin followed along. As they walked towards the hospital wing, Harry was almost bursting with questions.  
  
   
  
"How is Sirius going to be proved innocent?" he asked Lupin as they turned a corner. "Everybody knows his name and believes that he is a dangerous murderer, and he's even been on Muggle television. It won't be that easy to just put an article in the _Prophet_ saying 'Oops, we screwed up.'"  
  
   
  
"What will probably happen is the Ministry will take Pettigrew into custody very publicly, so that people can see that he is alive. Sirius will go before the Wizengamot to proclaim formally that he didn't work for Voldemort. If everything goes right, Pettigrew will go to Azkaban and you can go live with Sirius. Oh, here we are at the hospital wing."  
  
   
  
They left Ron to be fussed over by Madam Pomfrey and continued on to Gryffindor Tower. When they arrived Lupin stood outside with them and said in a very fatherly tone, "Stay out of trouble, okay, Harry? If Sirius is going to be exonerated then we can't have any shenanigans distracting everybody. Hermione, can I trust that you'll keep him busy? I know exams are over but maybe you can practice stuff for next year."  
  
   
  
"Practice stuff for next year?" Harry said skeptically. "I don't think so. Well, I'm going to bed." He turned and walked through the portrait hole, ignoring the Fat Lady's protests about the time.  
  
   
  
He hadn't thought he was tired, but as soon as he walked quietly into his dormitory, trying not to wake up Neville, Seamus, or Dean, he become extremely drowsy and collapsed onto his bed like a log.  
  
   
  
* * *  
  
   
  
The next morning, Harry joined Hermione at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. It was a Saturday, so he was dressed casually - one of Dudley's old t-shirts and a pair of loose-fitting jeans. Hermione was sitting buttering her toast when the owls came in.  
  
   
  
"Mail's here," she said, looking up at him.  
  
   
  
"D'you think anything will be in the _Prophet_ about last night?" he asked her.  
  
   
  
"I don't know," Hermione replied. As she answered, an owl landed beside her. She took the paper out of it's talons and placed a galleon in the money pouch tied to it. When the owl left she unfurled the paper.  
  
   
  
"Look!" she said triumphantly. On the front page was the headline Harry had been hoping for, but not quite believing that it would show up this quickly.  
  
   
  
 _"Sirius Black innocent_ ," read the headline. Below that said, " _Potters' best man framed by Death Eater friend."_  
  
  
  
" _According to Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge, Sirius Black did not commit the crimes he is widely believed to have been responsible for,"_ Harry read. _"The Minister said that Black contacted him late last night carrying a rat, which he then transformed back into the human form of Peter Pettigrew, who was supposedly murdered by Black after the death of Lily and James Potter in 1981."_  
  
   
  
 _  
  
  
The Prophet managed to secure an interview with Black. 'I never betrayed Lily and James,' Mr. Black states. 'I would've died before I gave them away to Voldemort.' He says that Lily and James died because they secretly switched a protective measure so that Peter Pettigrew, not himself, was the main part, and then Pettigrew turned traitor."  
  
   
  
During the interview, Black demonstrated that he did not carry the Dark Mark, which is the symbol that the Death Eaters have on their left arms."  
  
   
  
Cornelius Fudge states that one of the reasons Black was falsely sent to Azkaban was because of the major furor over the Death Eater roundups following Voldemort's fall in 1981. 'Back then, if you were suspected to be a Death Eater, you went straight to Azkaban without a trial,' he said. 'Many times, we were right in our assumptions. Obviously, we were wrong about Mr. Black.' Fudge also cited the zealousness of senior Ministry official Bartemius Crouch Sr. as a reason. Crouch directed the hunt for Death Eaters in 1982 and beyond, as the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He is currently the head of the Department of Magical Co-Operation."  
  
   
  
_  
 _Peter Pettigrew has been taken into Ministry custody and will receive a fully publicized trial during the summer. Sirius Black will be returned all of his belongings, include his house, and will also shortly be applying for custody of Harry Potter, his godson,"_ Harry finished. He could see other people throwing him glances as they read their own copies of the newspaper. When he looked up at the teacher's table, searching for Lupin, he was there. He turned back and continued reading the other articles in the _Prophet_ when Snape entered by the back of the Great Hall and sat down beside Professor McGonagall.  
  
   
  
Just as he entered another owl landed by Harry. He took the scroll from its leg and unfurled it. The brief paragraph was from Dumbledore.  
  
   
  
 _  
  
  
Sirius is now back at his childhood house and is preparing to make a custody claim. I believe it will succeed, and I think you will be very pleased to be able to leave the Dursleys.  
  
   
  
_  
 _I'm sure they'd be just as pleased at the idea of me leaving them_ , Harry thought, picturing Uncle Vernon's face when Sirius showed up to take him away, with some pleasure.  
  
   
  
As he looked up at the teacher's table, he saw Snape reading the front section of the _Prophet_ , his eyes perusing over the same story that Harry had just finished. Watching him, Harry saw an interesting expression come onto Snape's face. He tried to summarize it mentally and failed, the closest description that he came up with being 'surprised', and even that didn't seem right.  
  
   
  
He turned the page of the _Prophet_ and began reading an article on proposed new anti-werewolf legislation. Someone named Dolores Umbridge was introducing a new law that would be discriminatory against werewolves. _Lupin_ , Harry thought, hoping first that his professor would keep his job, and second that it wouldn't affect him if he did.  
  
   
  
Since breakfast was nearly over, Harry decided to get up and leave. He thought he would go talk to Lupin, and ask about his father. He had, after all, been friends with him during their schooldays.


	2. Year's End

There was almost a month left in the school year, with nothing to do. Harry and Hermione killed time by swimming in the Black Lake. When Ron's broken leg healed, he joined them. Harry thought he might've been wrong, but he was pretty sure that Ron and Hermione liked each other. Several times he left, wanting to give them a little privacy - not that they were doing anything, but he still had the feeling that he should leave them alone.

When these moments happened, he went and visited Lupin. He would talk about what it had been like going to school with his parents and Sirius, and how he had wanted to have friends desperately, since he was a werewolf and was usually shunned.

When it was near the full moon and he couldn't go visit Lupin, Harry went and visited the library. He couldn't imagine what Fred and George would say, but they seemed to have disappeared, and he was looking at books about Defense Against the Dark Arts, which was only one subject. It wasn't like he was turning into an all-out Hermione.

One day, with a week left to go in the school year, Harry was sitting outside with Ron and Hermione when a scrawny grey owl landed on his bookbag with a letter.

"Where did this come from?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry replied, although he had a feeling that it was from Sirius - he hadn't heard anything from him in the two weeks since the first  _ Prophet _ article, and he had promised to stay in touch, after all. He took the letter from the tiny owl, who didn't move.

_ Dear Harry _ , he read.  _ I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch like I promised. I have been very busy in these past two weeks. Aside from trying to make my house livable for you (which still requires more work; you'll have to help me in the summer), to helping the Ministry in their case against Pettigrew, I have applied for custody of you from the Ministry of Magic. Apparently, this requires consent from your current careholders - in your case your aunt and uncle. From the way you described them to me, it seemed like they couldn't wait to see you gone. When you get off the train at Platform 9 3/4 next week, I will be waiting with a Ministry official, who will oversee this. We will go talk to your aunt and uncle, and then we will go to my house (I'm assuming you have all your stuff at Hogwarts with you). _

_ Sirius _

_ P.S. Tell Ron to keep the owl - it's my fault that he doesn't have a rat anymore. Besides, owls are better. _

"Owls are better?" Ron asked in disbelief. "What was wrong with my rat?"

"He was a mass murderer who betrayed my parents," Harry reminded him.

"Oh... right."

"I'm bored," Hermione said. "I think I'm going find out my marks from McGonagall."

Harry decided he didn't want to sit around either. "I'm going to go talk to Lupin and see if he's coming back next year," he said. "Our last two Defense teachers didn't last more than a year. I hope he stays."

"He's certainly better than Lockhart," Ron agreed.

Harry and Hermione got up together, leaving Ron alone by himself. They parted at the Clock Tower, Harry going up to the fifth floor, Hermione going down by the Transfiguration Courtyard to talk to Professor McGonagall.

Harry was almost at the top of the stairs leading to the Defense classroom when he realized that it was the full moon. Lupin wouldn't be in any condition for talking. Sighing, he turned around, intending to go back to the common room and play a game of chess with Ron.

Instead he bumped into Snape.

"Potter," he said coldly. "Professor Lupin is... indisposed for this week."

"I know," Harry replied, just as coldly.

"Considering your actions last week," Snape continued, brushing back his hair to reveal a bandage on his scalp, "I thought you might want to know that Peter Pettigrew is safely in Ministry custody, in an Animagus-proof cell in Azkaban, where he will no doubt be for the rest of his life."

Harry nodded and brushed past Snape, heading back down the stairs.

"Oh, and Mr. Potter," Snape added, "if you should attempt to repeat your stunt of attacking a teacher, I will personally make sure you are expelled."

_ Yeah, yeah, same old threat, _ Harry thought as he made his way down the stairs. Snape had been telling him he would be getting expelled for almost three years now, and nothing had ever happened. He was beginning to think that Snape was getting soft.

* * *

It was the final day of the school year. Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the Gryffindor common room, all packed up, about to go down to the Great Hall for the Closing Feast. They had won the House Cup again, and Harry couldn't wait to get down and rub their win in Malfoy's face. Having Gryffindor banners hanging from the roof for the third year in a row should sting.

When they got down to the Great Hall, they took their seats at the Gryffindor table, beside Fred and George.

"Hello, you three," they said in unison, as usual. "So what've you been up to these past three weeks?"

"Nothing," Ron said.

"Three weeks of freedom and you've done nothing?" George said unbelievingly. "Why, Ron, that's -"

What George thought was unknown, because Hermione hissed, "Dumbledore's about to talk, shut up," and he stopped talking.

Professor Dumbledore stood at his speaking lectern, gesturing for quiet. When the hall became silent, he started his speech.

"Another school year over," he said. "First, I would like to congratulate Gryffindor House, for winning the House Cup, for the third year in a row." He gestured at the banners as the Gryffindor table cheered, and the Slytherins booed from the other side of the hall.

"Second, I have some announcements to make. Professor Lupin will be returning next year to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, while Professor Hagrid will be stepping down from Care of Magical Creatures to focus more on his gamekeeper duties. In his stead, Professor Grubbly-Plank will become the full-time teacher of that subject."

"Why is Hagrid stepping down," Harry asked Hermione.

"I don't know," she replied.

"On a more serious note," Dumbledore continued, "no doubt all of you have heard of the fact that Sirius Black has been declared innocent."

"Those of you that haven't have been living under a rock for a month," Fred muttered.

"The Ministry of Magic has taken very seriously the fact that an innocent man spent 12 years in prison without cause. You may wonder why I'm telling you all this, when it doesn't affect you any more than events in the Muggle world. I am asking you to, in the future, take consideration of the effect your actions will have on other people before you carry them out. If Peter Pettigrew had considered that he was betraying his friends of ten years, our world today would be a lot different. Even small decisions matter."

"Now, enough of the heavy talk," he finished, "and dig in!"

As usual, plates of steaming hot food appeared on the tables in front of them. "Shepherd's pie!" Ron said enthusiastically, and cut himself a large slice from the nearest plate. Harry ignored him and took a slice of roast chicken from the plate that had appeared right in front of him.

"Why is Hagrid stepping down?" he asked Fred, who was sitting next to him. 

"Dumbledore said that he was going to focus more on his gamekeeper duties, but he was doing fine all year. I don't get it."

"Apparently Hagrid requested it," Fred told him. "He was really shaken up from the whole incident with Malfoy. You know, Buckbeak's execution."

" _ Malfoy _ is the reason why Hagrid's stepping down?" Harry said coldly.

"Yeah," Fred said. "Although, don't get me wrong, I love Hagrid, but he's not actually a very good teacher." He took a chicken leg and started chewing on it with gusto. "Don't feel so down, Harry, you're going home to a proper family this year," he added, his voice muffled through the chicken in his mouth.

The thought of Sirius cheered Harry up immensely. He didn't have to deal with Dudley any more. Aunt Petunia could find someone else to water the flowers and pull the weeds out of the lawn, and Uncle Vernon could cook his own breakfast.

At the end of the dinner, Dumbledore stood up again. "I know you thought I was only going to talk once, but I have to disappoint you at least once in the school year," he said, with a bad attempt at humour, "and that moment hasn't happened yet, so I will use it now."

"Was that a joke?" George asked. "Was that honestly a joke? Are you kidding me?"

"I have the usual end-of-year reminder for you. No magic is to be used outside of school. This rule applies as soon as you step off of the train onto King's Cross Station. Other than that, have a great summer." He stepped back to his chair and sat down heavily.

Harry got up with the rest of his house and followed Ron and Hermione back to their common room. There, sitting in the middle of the floor, Harry and Ron played 8 games of wizard chess. After Ron had won 7 out of the 8, and was about to win the final one, Harry flicked his king over, yawned, and said, "I'm going to bed." Ron agreed, bade Hermione goodnight and followed him up the stairs. They both flopped onto their four-poster beds and were fast asleep before their heads hit their pillows.

The next morning, the three grabbed their trunks, pre-packed, and lugged them down to Hogsmeade, where they boarded the train. They grabbed a compartment to themselves, and settled in. Ron summarized all of their thoughts when he said, "It's been a good year, but it's great to be going back home."

**Harry added, "Especially now that I _have_ a home." **


	3. Harry's Home

Harry yawned as the train pulled into Platform 9 3/4. It was only 7, but he was tired. The ride back had seemed to take a lot longer than the trips back to King's Cross in previous years. He thought it was because he had something to look forward to, going to live with Sirius.

He grabbed his trunk from the overhead compartment, accidentally bashing Ron with it on the way down, and rolled it into the aisle, to the end of the car, and off the train.

He started looking around for Sirius and spotted him near the wall, talking to a Ministry official who would no doubt be overseeing Harry's leaving the Dursleys for good.

Sirius looked a hundred times better than he had in the Shrieking Shack. His hair was now carefully groomed and hung in dark brown curls around his face, whereas before it had looked like a bad imitation of Snape's greasy hair. His moustache was trimmed, and he was wearing a brown velvet blazer with a pair of black pants and a white dress shirt.

As Harry pulled his trunk up, Sirius said, "Hello, Harry! This is Vindictus Cragg, who'll be making sure that your uncle agrees to me adopting you."

"I'm pretty sure Uncle Vernon won't need persuading," Harry told him. He pushed his trunk onto a nearby trolley and ran through the barrier, onto the Muggle side of the station.

"So, Harry," Sirius asked, when he had come over, "where is your uncle?"

"Over there," Harry said. He pointed to where Uncle Vernon's black company car sat in the parking lot. Uncle Vernon himself was sitting behind the wheel, his arms crossed in front of him as he watched the three wizards approach.

"One thing, sir," Harry said to Cragg as they came within metres of the car, "he hates wizards."

Cragg nodded as Uncle Vernon got out of the car.

"Who are you?" he contemptiously asked Cragg. He turned to Sirius and said, "You look like that no-good scoundrel that was friends with James Potter."

Sirius raised his eyebrows and Cragg stepped forward.

"Mr. Dursley, I work for the Ministry of Magic, and I need you to sign this piece of paper here." He handed Uncle Vernon a scroll and a quill.

Uncle Vernon looked suspiciously at it. "Adoption request? What's this? You," he said, pointing at Sirius, "want to adopt my nephew?"

Sirius looked Uncle Vernon in the eye, meeting his cold glare. "Yes," he answered. "And I'll make sure to do a better job than you have, Dursley. Harry tells me that he can't wait to be rid of you. So sign the damn paper so we can leave."

Uncle Vernon huffed as he took the quill from Cragg and signed his name quickly. "I don't like being pushed around by good-for-nothing mischiefmakers like you," he told Sirius. "All the same, I can't wait to be rid of him. He causes enough trouble even while he's at this stupid school of yours."

Harry swallowed a sharp retort as Cragg took the parchment back from Uncle Vernon. The Ministry official glanced at it briefly, then signed his own name underneath Uncle Vernon's and looked at Sirius.

"It's official," he said. "You can go home now, Mr. Black." He turned and walked back through the barrier, presumably to Disapparate back to the Ministry.

Harry and Sirius shared a smile, and then turned away. Uncle Vernon shot one more challenging glare at Sirius before he, too, got back in his car and drove home.

"So where do you live?" Harry asked Sirius. "You've never told me."

"It's a surprise," Sirius said. "All I'm going to tell you is that it's rather big. It used to be my parent's house, and my family was huge. Slytherins, all of them, so I've spent two weeks getting rid of green decorations and replacing them with red." He pulled Harry into a deserted alley and said, "Grab my arm."

Harry grabbed his arm and opened his mouth to ask why, but before he could his feet were wrenched out from under him. He felt like he was being shoved through a tube. His lungs were constricted and he couldn't breathe. Just as he thought he was about to pass out, they slammed into the front hall of Sirius's house.

Harry fell to his knees, breathing deeply, and let his vision clear. Then he stood back up and looked around him. "Wow," he said in amazement.

Sirius's family had obviously been wealthy at some point. The front hall itself was huge. There was dark brown wood floors, and the walls were covered in wood paneling. There were red carpets on the floor and chairs with red upholstery sat invitingly near the walls.

"Sirius," Harry breathed, "this is amazing."

"Better than Privet Drive?" Sirius asked with a grin.

"Definitely," Harry replied. "As long as I don't have to sleep under the stairs."

Sirius's expression darkened. "They made you sleep under the stairs?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Nice and cozy." He changed the subject. "Where's my room?"

"Up the stairs," Sirius said. "There are 30 different bedrooms, all gigantic, so take your pick."

Harry nodded and started dragging his trunk up the stairs, wondering if that was a joke. 

He turned into the first bedroom he found. It was a long, thin room. There was a large four-poster bed with draped orange curtains. The walls were dark green, like Slytherin's house colours, and there was plenty of floor space. A large window at the end of the room made it feel even bigger than its already enormous size.

He dropped his trunk in front of what he assumed was a dresser and continued down the room. On one wall there was what he thought was a piano - he had seen one at one of Dudley's school functions, not that he had ever played it.

There was a knock at the door, and Harry turned to see Sirius standing there.

"Sorry about the walls," he said. "I tried to change them, but they're charmed Slytherin green, so they're stuck like that." He smiled. "You can tell I'm the only one in my family to have been sorted into Gryffindor, can't you?"

"Your entire family was in Slytherin?" Harry asked.

Sirius nodded. "Every last one. So of course, when it was my turn, I asked to be put in Gryffindor - I was a rebel even at the age of 11 - and my family, well, did not appreciate that." He paused, and then said, "Dinner's ready, if you want some."

Harry nodded and rushed down the stairs. He stopped in the front hall and realized he didn't know where the kitchen was. Sirius followed him down the stairs. "This way," he said, pointing down a hall to the right of the front door.

"This place is huge," Harry said as he walked into the kitchen, to be greeted by the delectable smell of chicken wings and mashed potatoes. He took a plate from a stack by the sink, took it and the plate of chicken wings to the table past the counter, and started eating. The wings were delicious.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" Harry asked. "This is amazing."

"When I was 15 I ran away from home and went to live with your father," Sirius said. "James's father taught me how to cook while I lived with them. Then all my family died, the rest were imprisoned in Azkaban, or married, and I got this place again." He looked around. "I didn't think I'd be back here, after all this time. Getting exonerated was a lot easier than I expected - in the war against Voldemort Dumbledore formed his own organization because the Ministry was basically useless."

"Speaking of the Ministry," Sirius continued. "Peter Pettigrew's hearing is next week. There's no doubt that he's going to be guilty. The only question is what his sentence will be. Unusually, the decision has been made to give you a say, since he betrayed your parents without a second's thought." His voice hardened as he said the last sentence.

Harry thought for a moment, but only a moment. He already knew what he wanted.


	4. Pettigrew's Trial

"Peter Pettigrew," the Wizengamot justice said, "you have been charged with the following crimes." He cleared his throat in the middle of the sentence, presumably for dramatic effect. "First, being an unregistered Animagus, taking the form of a rat. Second, being a willing accomplice to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named when he was in power. Third, during said period of service to You-Know-Who, you betrayed James and Lily Potter to him. Fourth, 12 counts of murder and 1 count of using magic in the near vicinity of Muggles."

"Before you plead," he continued, "I would like to remind you that if you are proven guilty, you face an unconditional sentence of life in Azkaban. You know the evidence against you is overwhelming. We have testimony from guards who say that you tried to rationalize the murder of 14 people.  _ You can't win _ ."

Harry stood off to the side of the courtroom, in the front section of the visitor's area, with Lupin. He looked at Sirius, standing to the right of the justice, stiff as a board, his hands clasped before him, staring intently at Pettigrew.

"That justice is being really harsh," Harry said to Lupin. "I know Pettigrew doesn't deserve light treatment, but..." He trailed off.

"The justice is Barty Crouch," Lupin replied. "He's angry at the fact that the  _ Prophet _ blamed Pettigrew's hiding on him, so he's getting his revenge now. Besides," he added, "after Voldemort's fall, he was just as harsh on other captured Death Eaters. You should've seen how severely he came down on his son when he was brought in."

"His son was a Death Eater?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Yes," Lupin answered. "One of the inner circle too." His tone of voice indicated that the conversation was at an end. Harry refocused on Crouch verbally attacking - because that seemed to be the right description - Pettigrew.

"It is easy to prove that you were originally against Voldemort," Crouch said. He took a picture off his speaking stand. "Here is a picture of the Order of the Phoenix, which was an organization founded by Albus Dumbledore to help the Ministry in the Wizarding War. In the second row you can clearly see Mr. Pettigrew, right beside James Potter, the very man he betrayed months later."

He leaned down to look at Pettigrew intently. "Why did you betray James and Lily Potter?" he demanded fiercely.

Pettigrew looked up, but failed to meet Crouch's eye. He couldn't move very much, as the chair he was sitting in had wrapped chains around him when he had been sat in it.

"I - had - no - choice," he stammered, looking and sounding thoroughly pathetic. "He - he would've killed me!"

Before Crouch could answer, Sirius replied.

"I would've died for you, if I had needed to," he said coldly, staring down at Pettigrew. "If you had died, you would've taken James and Lily's location to the grave, and 12 other people would not have died. The fact that I spent 12 years in Azkaban because you lied isn't my point."

He leaned back.

"Mr. Pettigrew," Crouch continued, "we have evidence, again, to prove that you willingly gave information to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. You say that you were forced to give up the location of Lily and James Potter, under threat of death. I have here," he waved around a brown leather book that looked well-kept, "the diary of a former Death Eater. Pictor Black, the latest in a family of Death Eaters. Despite being a servant of the most notorious dark wizard ever, he kept a diary. The entry for October 10, 1981 reads as follows:"

_ "Peter Pettigrew sought out my master today,"  _ he read. " _ He said he had realized that the Ministry could not win. When the Dark Lord asked how he could 'be an asset', the exact words he used, Pettigrew said that he knew where James and Lily Potter were, and that he could guide him to them. This information was given willingly, and Pettigrew appeared so randomly that my master at first thought this was some joke Dumbledore was playing to get a spy into our ranks."  _ Crouch set the book down.

"As you can see," he said, addressing the Wizengamot, "Peter Pettigrew wasn't a loyal defender of James and Lily Potter. He gave them away willingly." He motioned to two wizards standing by the door into the courtroom. They began to approach Pettigrew.

"My last piece of evidence in this case will be the Dark Mark on Peter Pettigrew's left arm. At the end of the war, we discovered that the Dark Mark affects people who joined willingly and people who were Imperiused differently."

"Imperiused?" Harry muttered to Lupin.

"It's one of three Unforgivable Curses," Lupin whispered back. "The use of any of them is enough for a life sentence in Azkaban. The Imperius Curse is basically a form of mind control."

_ Pleasant _ , Harry thought.

"When someone willingly receives the Dark Mark," Crouch persisted, "it is gray when inactive. All of the Death Eaters in Azkaban have grey skulls on their left forearms," he elaborated, for the benefit of a few puzzled-looking members of the Wizengamot. "If someone gets the Dark Mark while they are under the Imperius Curse, it is almost invisible and only an outline is shown on the skin."

He gestured at the wizards, who were now standing behind Pettigrew. One grabbed the sleeve of his left arm and grabbed it up over his fleshy arm. Voldemort's Dark Mark stood on his arm. In gray.

"As you can see," Crouch said triumphantly, "he was willingly a servant of You-Know-Who."

He opened his mouth to say something else, but a witch with long dirty-blonde hair put up a hand and motioned to him to stop. He turned to her and she said, "Perhaps, Bartemius, it is time for a break? You have been going at this for an hour already."

He nodded his agreement.

Up in the stands, Lupin rose from where he was sitting and motioned to Harry to follow him. He walked down to the courtroom doors, and passed through them, to where Sirius was waiting on the other side. As Harry looked up at his godfather he noticed that he looked completely exhausted, but happy as well.

"He can't win," Sirius said. "I don't even know why he didn't just plead at the start - if you look at the  _ Prophet _ " - which Harry hadn't been doing at all - "you'll see that public opinion is completely against him."

"So when he is convicted," Lupin added, "he'll go to Azkaban for good in an Animagus-proof cell, and we can all get on with our lives." But he sounded unconvinced.

As they were speaking, Harry noticed a table behind Sirius with drinks on it. "What're those?" he asked. Lupin turned and glanced at them.

"Firewhisky," he said. "No, you can't have any. Here, take some pumpkin juice." Harry accepted it gratefully and chugged it, feeling very thirsty.

"Come on, let's get back to the courtroom," Lupin said. He turned and walked back into the courtroom, Harry and Sirius trailing behind.

When everyone had settled down, Crouch continued his assault on Pettigrew.

"After You-Know-Who attacked Lily and James Potter," he demanded, "what did you do? Did you go to their house to observe the effect of your actions? We didn't find You-Know-Who's wand there, although we did find his body. You went there after you betrayed them and took the wand, didn't you? Then Sirius confronted you and you killed 12 Muggles and transformed into your Animagus form."

Pettigrew didn't reply.

"Moving on to the murder of 12 Muggles," Crouch said, "because taking a wand isn't a crime -  _ unfortunately _ ." This last word was layer with so much menace Harry was reminded of Snape in his fouler moods.

"When you were confronted by Sirius that night," he continued, "what passed between you two? Other than you lying to save your own skin, exploding the street, and escaping into the sewer?"

"I asked him where Lily and James were," Sirius answered, in place of Pettigrew. "He didn't answer, and I realized what had happened." His voice sounded suspiciously light, as though he were making a determined effort to keep strain and anger out of it. Harry hoped he was the only one that noticed.

"I didn't have a chance to draw my wand before he shouted that I was the one that betrayed them -  _ as if _ \- and he blew up the entire street," Sirius continued. "Do you know what it's like to be mentally broken? That was me after he escaped. I just sat in the street laughing until the Aurors came and picked me up."

"Indeed," Crouch added, "when we tested his wand for spells, the last spell that we found was a simple Levitation Charm. We don't know what happened to his," pointing at Pettigrew, "wand. Perhaps it disappeared. We don't have it. But what we do have," he said, changing the subject, "is testimony from an observer of this... altercation, who was afraid to step forward until now. Samantha King, of 200 Drury Street, has sent in an affidavit that I am going to read part of."

" _ On November 1, 1981, I was in my house, 200 Drury Street, London, when I looked out my window and saw two men arguing. From my time in school with them, I recognized them as Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. Black asked where Lily and James Potter were. I remember thinking that that was a stupid question, because I hadn't heard the news yet. When Peter didn't answer, there was a look of suspicion on Sirius's face. Peter then pulled out his wand, screamed that Sirius had betrayed Lily and James Potter, and blew up the street with the most powerful Reductor Curse I have ever seen. He then turned into a rat and escaped into the sewer." _

Crouch finished reading and looked up.

"That is the end of our case," he said. "We have no record of a Peter Pettigrew in our Animagus Registry." He turned to the Wizengamot. "It is fairly obvious that he is guilty of the crimes charged. He has not offered a single word in his defence, other than trying to minimize the fact that he is the cause of the deaths of Lily and James Potter. Peter Pettigrew has escaped punishment for his crimes for over 12 years, and in his place an innocent man has languished in Azkaban." He neglected to mention it was his fault that Sirius had been dumped in Azkaban in the first place, without a trial.

"I think we owe it to Lily and James Potter, and to the 12 Muggles that he killed, to see that he is put behind bars for good. We also owe it to Harry Potter, whose family was taken away from him by a coward who sought out He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and claimed he had no choice. Peter Pettigrew was not put under the Imperius Curse. He  _ chose _ to do these things, commit these crimes. Committing murder is a crime that is worthy of a sentence in Azkaban. So is betraying your best friend and his wife to You-Know-Who because you didn't think the war could be won." Crouch was steadily becoming more animated and passionate as his speech went on. "Even if Peter Pettigrew didn't think we could've won the war, others did. Others he caused the death of. Ladies and gentlemen of the Wizengamot, it is time to decide. Do you acquit a man who tried to rationalize murder? Or do you give him what he deserves and make a gift of a life sentence in Azkaban? The decision is yours."

A lady in the front of the Wizengamot, who Harry thought looked a lot like Susan Bones, stood up.

"All in favour of the defendant being guilty, raise your hand," she said. Harry looked around in awe as every member of the Wizengamot raised their hands.

"All in favour of the defendant being acquitted, raise your hand," she said, presumably for necessity's sake. Nobody raised their hands.

The witch stood up and addressed Pettigrew. "Peter Pettigrew, you stand convicted of all the charges brought against you. Your sentence is life in Azkaban."

Peter, sitting chained in the chair, turned pale white, and turned even whiter when two Dementors appeared and started floating towards him. Even as far away as Harry was, he could still felt cold and clammy.

Pettigrew started struggling crazily against the chains as the Dementors got closer, as though he were hoping to escape.

"Stop struggling or you will be given the Kiss," Crouch commanded, but he was ignored, and Harry suddenly, with a sickened feel in his stomach, knew what was going to happen. He started to turn away to leave the courtroom when he heard a huge sucking noise, and Pettigrew screamed.

Harry forced himself to turn back and look at Pettigrew. The Dementor's mouth was attached to his, and it was sucking more powerfully than any vacuum cleaner ever could.

Harry turned to Lupin and said, "Let's leave, please." Lupin nodded and led the way out.

When they were in the hall Harry asked, "Does this mean it's over?"

**Lupin nodded. "Now it's definitely over." **


End file.
